Korea Blog 3

Food
Blog post 3
April 19, 2015
Clayton Slack

There are many foods used in traditional Korean looking, but there are many that seem to occur in many dishes. One of these foods is rice. Rice is a major part in the agriculture industry in Korea, approximately 80 percent of all farms in Korea grow and harvest rice. Over the years amount of land that is cultivated for rice has decreased, but the yield in each hectare has increased. Due to these changing conditions the rice production has not increased, but has stayed the same. This is not good because with growing populations there becomes an increase in demand and thus a shortage in supply. The production of rice in Korea is very diverse. In many areas people still plant, grow, and harvest rice by hand; while in other more advanced areas machinery is used in the process. The first step in growing rice is to fill the seeds with water and flood the field with around 4-5 inches of water. After this the seeds are dropped into the field and since they are filled with water they will sink to the bottom and into the ground. The fields are flooded with water because it helps the plant grow and gives them an edge over the weeds, so very little pesticides have to be used. During the harvest season the fields are drained of the water and then the plants are pulled from the ground. After the plants are pulled from the ground, the bran layers of the rice are taken off and the final crop is the white rice that    many people eat. Rice is a healthy food for protein, but since for many Koreans it is such a large part of their diet it becomes a little unhealthy.

Bibimbap(Traditional Korean Dish)

Song, Yoohan, and K.L. Heong. Impact of Recent Agricultural Policies on South Korea’s Pesticide Use, Pest Situations and Rice Landscapes. Digital image. Rice Hoppers. 7 Jan. 2013. Web.

Dolsot Bibimbap. Digital image. I Eat Food. 4 Aug. 2008. Web.